


paths crossed

by charjo



Category: Cosmere - Brandon Sanderson, Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: F/F, First Meetings, for a post Oathbringer time frame, it's messy, written pre Oathbringer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 19:32:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14479638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charjo/pseuds/charjo
Summary: can't believe I never posted this here. whoops





	paths crossed

**Author's Note:**

> can't believe I never posted this here. whoops

Even after a couple of years living in Urithiru, Lift was still more comfortable on the streets than in the big buildings of Radiantness. Not that she didn’t like her fellow Radiants, but they were kind of stifling sometimes, with their rules and their Stormlight rationing and their _pay_. There was a fair amount of normal people here too, outside of the Radiantness, and Lift liked to mingle with them, reminding herself of the old days.

She took a meat-filled bun out of her bag and stuffed it in her mouth to replenish her dwindling Stormlight. Since she didn’t have to carry spheres, she could go about unnoticed on the street, just carrying a bag of food. Just like it used to be, except with more food.

Sure, lots of people would say her situation got better. She was around other people like her, she had social interaction with beings that were not her pet Voidbringer, there were consistent sources of food. But it was restricting, being confined to Urithiru unless they were fighting. Other Radiants got sent on missions a lot. Kaladin especially, since he could storming _fly_. But not Lift, even though she could travel better than some of them and didn’t dip into their sphere rations. She was too young or unexperienced, apparently. That made her kind of mad. She’d been lots of places by herself with Wyndle and managed just fine. Even against Darkness. Lift had had _plans_.

 _Should’ve gotten to those before going to Urithiru,_ she thought, keeping a leisurely pace down a street now familiar to her, chewing her bun.

She hung around the merchants a lot to hear about what was going on outside. Merchants went lots of places, places that the war didn’t affect as much. And merchants would talk about food sometimes. Lift would’ve liked to see how far she could get into Shinovar, to try some of their food. Or maybe go to the Purelake.

There was one girl she liked hanging around especially. Wyndle always sniffed that it was because she was really pretty, and Lift wasn’t gonna deny that, but the lady had the best stories. Sitting in her special wheeled chair--probably couldn’t use her legs so good, Lift figured--she’d exchange pleasantries with customers and bring them news of their home countries, but in an exciting way. Lift parked herself in one spot along the wall, keeping her head down but her attention fixed, waiting for the girl to get a customer to talk to. The girl herself was usually surrounded with a party of other Thaylen merchants, but none of the others were there today.

Lift figured that the girl was the merchant in charge. She called the shots, even though she was younger and in the chair with wheels. Or maybe because of that. Lift didn’t know a lot about Thaylen merchant customs. The girl must’ve sent them somewhere, and Lift was just fine with that. Left her with a better view of the girl’s face and clearer hearing.

Wyndle was unusually quiet today. Probably had something to do with that weird Pattern spren. Wyndle and the windspren--Syl--didn’t seem to like that one very much. Something about spren politics. Lift pretended to be fixing her braid, tucking her head and speaking without moving her mouth much. “Something wrong, Voidbringer?”

“I’m not sure how to feel about the company we keep,” Wyndle muttered.

“We’ve been here a year, and you haven’t gotten used to being around that storming spren?”

“He’s a cryptic,” Wyndle insisted stubbornly. “The likes of Syl and I don’t associate with him.”

Lift snorted, brushing her braid back behind her again. “I don’t really see what’s so important about that. He’s a Voidbringer, he makes Shallan a storming Radiant. You’re a Voidbringer, you make me awesome. Not much difference.”

Wyndle sputtered, and Lift grinned. “It is--no, that’s--I can’t believe--”

“What?”

“You know, you could talk to someone else other than yourself if you wanted,” a new voice called. Lift whipped her head up. The merchant girl was _talking_ to her, looking directly at her and smiling.

“I’m not talking to myself,” Lift called back, amazed her voice was functioning. “I’m talking to my invisible friend.”

She ignored Wyndle’s indignant response. The girl shrugged. “You two could come over here and talk to me too.”

“You hear that?” Lift told Wyndle. “‘You two’. She doesn’t think I’m crazy.”

“She thinks you’re crazy,” Wyndle grumbled, reluctantly following her as she crossed the street to stand nearer to the merchant. “She’s just being nice about it.”

“I’ve seen you around here a lot,” the merchant said to Lift, smiling pleasantly. “I don’t really know what you’re doing, though.”

“Listening, mostly,” Lift replied, settling with her back to the wall. “To people talk, mostly. Sometimes my imaginary friend. Mostly your stories, though.”

The girl smiled again, blushing a little, and reached up to tuck her long eyebrows behind her ears. “Really?”

“Yeah. I used to travel lots, but I’m kind of stuck here for a bit. It’s nice to hear about other places.”

“Well, I do go to a lot of other places. Where are you from? Do you need news?”

“I’m not really from anywhere,” Lift told her. “I kind of lived in Azir for a bit, but I get news from my friend the king there. My mother said I was born in the Reshi Isles, though. Never been there.”

“Oh, I have! That’s actually where this happened.” The girl gestured to her legs, covered by a blanket. Despite the statement, she was smiling. “They seem like a very carefree people.”

“Something we don’t share, then. How’d that happen?”

“I jumped off a greatshell head to impress some traders.” The girl laughed. “It was a bit foolish, in retrospect--my master arranged the trade, trying to teach me about failure in trading. They’d already traded for what they wanted, but he sent me up saying that I needed to convince them in his absence. He was already very sick, by that point, so it wasn’t much of a stretch.” She looked almost sad for a moment, but pulled herself back.

“How far up was it?”

“Very far. I don’t remember the exact distance, though. It’s a miracle I survived--Relu-na slowed me down so I only lost my legs. Quite fortunate, if you think about it.”

“Yeah. That’s impressive.”

The girl smiled again. Lift liked that she did that so much. “You said you used to travel? Where did you go?”

“All over.” Lift rested her head against the wall, smiling back. “I’m a thief.”

“You just tell people that now?” Wyndle grumbled.

“Not of any of your stuff, though. I steal food.”

“Food?” Despite the fact that Lift had just admitted to being a thief, the girl appeared enthralled, not the least bit concerned about the legality of Lift’s past. She liked that too.

“Yeah. I snuck into important people’s houses and ate their dinners. Did it to the head of the Skybreakers, once. We’re friends now.”

“Is that how you’re friends with the king of Azir?”

“Uh, no, he bungled a job I was riding on to get the dinners of the parliament of Azir. He almost died, I saved him, he’s king now.”

“You almost seem better traveled than I am. In experience, anyway.” The girl adjusted the blanket on her lap. “So you’ve met Radiants?”

“Oh, absolutely. You see them in Urithiru all the time.”

“Your next line is going to be ‘you’re looking at one right now’, isn’t it?” Wyndle muttered. Lift continued to ignore him.

“Well, I do see them,” said the girl thoughtfully, “but I’ve never met one.”

“Stealing from them is a great opportunity to meet them.” Lift wrinkled her nose, remembering a… particular occasion. “Not all of them are so friendly, though.”

If Wyndle had actual eyes, he’d probably be squinting. “What do you mean ‘them’? You’re one of them. You could say ‘us’, but you’re not. You’re being… _sly_. Almost everyone knows you’re a Radiant. Why hide it?”

“I think that’s reasonable,” the merchant mused. “They’re busy people.”

“What do you think of the Radiants, anyway?” Lift asked, turning slightly away from Wyndle to shield herself from the word barrage that was sure to come.

The girl worried her lip, and Lift tried to not get distracted. “I think they have great potential. There’s an enormous amount of evil happening in the world right now, so there needs to be a balance. I hope the Radiants are that balance, but looking at the past…” She sighed. “Cycles are easy to fall into.”

Lift nodded. Wyndle sighed exaggeratedly behind her. “How long are you going to talk to this person? This has to be the longest one conversation you’ve had with someone. Besides me.”

“So,” the girl said, obviously trying to change the subject, “you like food.”

Lift snorted and grinned, turning so she was leaning her shoulder against the wall, still facing the merchant. “You could say that.”

She laughed, embarrassed. “What I meant to say was ‘if you like food, you know good food around here’. I might be staying for a little while.”

“Yeah, Alethi people have pretty good food. But if you want anything spicy, you have to dress up like a boy or steal it. Or I could steal it for you.”

“Ah, yes, I am familiar with the infamous Vorin ‘sensibilities’.” The girl wiggled her gloved left hand at Lift with a resigned shrug.

Lift raised her own uncovered left hand and waved back. “It’s a little weird. I think sometimes these people would be _less_ scandalized if I walked around wearing nothing but a glove on this hand.”

She was rewarded with a surprised, guffawing laugh. Probably the most beautiful sound she’d ever heard. She couldn’t help a smile as the girl struggled to regain control of her laughter.

Wyndle crept closer until Lift could register his expression without turning her head too much. “I can’t believe this. You’re _flirting._ ”

It was lucky Wyndle was so used to getting ignored, otherwise Lift might’ve felt bad about doing it so much. She did, however, aim a kick at him when the girl was preoccupied wiping at her face with her sleeve.

“An excellent question, but unfortunately not one that we can immediately test.”

“I don’t know about that. I could strip, and you could give me your glove.”

The girl snorted. “I only have this glove, and a sensible, successful trader strives to respect, if not understand, those they are trading with. So I should not take this off in public, and I should probably not try to steal men’s food.”

“So I should steal some for you?” Lift’s face was beginning to hurt from all the smiling she was doing. Worth it.

Before the girl could answer, some of her Thaylen partners came back and began packing up the wares. The girl started. “Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize… time passes so quickly when you are talking with someone you like. I have an appointment to keep.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you around.” Lift pushed herself off the wall, trying to stop herself from feeling disappointed.

“Oh, wait!” The girl lunged forward as far as she could in her chair, grabbing at Lift’s hand. “I’m sorry. Uh, I never asked for your name.”

Lift smiled, walking closer so she didn’t have to almost fall out of her chair. “Lift.”

“I’m Rysn. You’ll usually find me here--but you know that.” Rysn laughed, seeming more flustered now that Lift was closer. Lift tried to suppress a blush. Wyndle made a faint mortified noise from behind her. “I do hope to see you again.”

“Yeah. Next time maybe I’ll bring some of that illegal spicy food, eh?”

“Shh, don’t plan such things out loud.” Rysn giggled.

“S’not illegal if I bring some of my Radiant friends, is it?”

“I wasn’t aware Radiants were exempt from the law.” Rysn released Lift’s hand as one of her merchant partners circled around her chair to wheel her away.

“Well, that’s the only way I’ve gotten away with lots of stuff I’ve been doing,” Lift blurted casually. Rysn and her chair-mover gave her a curious look. Lift grinned, raising a hand in farewell before running a few steps and Slicking her feet so she slid easily across the smooth pathway. She risked a glance back. Rysn’s jaw was hanging open in awe, and her hand was raised, forgotten, in a returning farewell.

“I _should_ just let you crash into that cart,” Wyndle told her grumpily. Lift turned around, just in time to yelp and swerve out of the way.

“She does seem very nice, though,” he admitted, slowing alongside her as she carefully unSlicked her feet and resumed walking at a normal pace.

“Starvin’ right she does. Did you see how she laughed at my joke?”

“I did.”

“And she was smiling a lot. And she grabbed my hand. Did you see that?”

“I did.” Wyndle sighed. “This is new for you. Do all of you do this when you are… infatuated?”

“Don’t know, haven’t paid attention. She’s awfully pretty, though.”

“Whatever you say.” Lift thought she could hear just a hint of exasperated fondness in Wyndle’s tone. “Whatever you say.”


End file.
